Ljubljana airport gets new solar power plant
Brnik - A solar power plant has been installed on the roof of the parking garage at the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport recently. As the airport said on Tuesday at the commissioning ceremony, this is another step towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions, which has been a strategic goal of the airport since 2013.
The investment was a joint project of Fraport Slovenia, the company managing the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, and Resalta, a provider of energy services and renewable energy promotion in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
The 500 kilowatt photovoltaic power plant will generate around 530 megawatt hours of electricity annually, and the investment was worth EUR 350,000.
"Fraport Slovenia has recognised the advantages of our business model, where Resalta takes over the entire investment and implementation, while also managing and maintaining the power plant during the contract period," said Resalta's procurer Tomaž Orešič.
He explained that the new power plant will enable Fraport Slovenija to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 200 tonnes per year. Renewable electricity will thus provide 7% of the airport's total electricity consumption.
Zmago Skobir, management adviser and procurator at Fraport Slovenia, explained that the airport was a large consumer of electricity and fossil fuels, which is why they are working hard to reduce its carbon footprint.
In recent years, the airport has had a part of its lighting replaced, energy-wasting buildings renovated and a new centralised heating station commissioned two years ago. The company has been following a decarbonisation strategy since 2013.
Skobir explained that solar power plants were also a big part of this, and although their construction at the airport was somewhat limited for various reasons, the airport has enough space to continue with similar projects.
"Modern solar energy systems represent a huge potential a sustainable transformation, so the decision to introduce them was relatively easy, also from the point of view of actively reducing carbon dioxide emissions," Skobir pointed out.